OPPOSITES attract

The calm and relaxed interior of this elegant period villa in London is a world away from the busy city streets in which it is located

- VIVIENNE AYERS

Old and new blend beautifully in this exquisite Grade II listed, stucco-fronted, four-storey villa. Built-in 1830, it's situated in St John's Wood, London, and the owners reached out to interior designer Katie Harbison via Instagram, with their aesthetic and design direction aligning so well that Katie describes it as 'a match made in heaven.

Irish-born Katie is based in New York but has lived in London and Europe and cherishes the balance of designing both Stateside and UK homes. 'Much of my background is in the heritage and listed properties that London has to offer and are what I really love and resonate with. The scale and the scope of US properties are significantly different, so it's the best of both worlds, she explains.

Katie's ethos is working within the parameters of a house's architecture and ensuring the interiors feel a part of it or an extension of it. 'The grandeur and the architecture of this home is what I really wanted to play into, still embracing and enhancing those traditional features while making it more homely and adaptable,' she says. Katie's intention was to honour yet modernise the more enclosed nature of each space, and create a consistent, harmonious flow from room to room.